LABRADOR RETRIEVERS PUT ON A SHOW AT BATES NUT FARM

Dogs and their breeders gather for a pageant of looks and talent

More than 100 of the country’s most popular breed of dog — Labrador retrievers — gathered Saturday under blue skies and atop green grass at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center for the San Diego Labrador Retriever Club’s annual specialty dog show.

The dogs and their breeders came from all over the country and even Mexico to compete in various events Saturday and Sunday. The dogs were quiet, friendly, adorable and incredibly well-trained.

Dogs like Candy, a 10-month-old Lab owned by Kristen Stefek of Nine Miles Falls, Wash. Stefek drove down in her van with eight dogs and her two daughters, Kaitlin, 9, and Lauren, 6.

Just minutes after Candy had won the “Best in Sweepstakes” award in the puppies-to-18-month-old category, Stefek conceded that “dog show people are crazy.”

She said she travels across the country probably five or six times each year for such shows. Breeding dogs is a hobby for her, not a profession.

“My husband wishes I could make a living that way,” she said.

She said the Valley Center show is prestigious because it’s just for this one particular breed.

“It’s kind of a Lab celebration over the weekend,” she said. “It’s a way to exhibit our dogs that we’re so proud of.”

Heading the event was Barbara Nowak, a member of the board of directors of the local Lab club. She said all the Labs were being judged against the breed standard established by the American Kennel Club.

She explained that Labrador retrievers are primarily a sporting breed and are bred to retrieve game on land and in the water.

The four key elements in judging a Lab are head, coat, tail and overall balance.

“Those are essentials that define how good a dog will work in the field,” Nowak said.

A bushy tail is important, for instance, because it acts as a rudder in the water, she said.

Although the weekend is all about Labs, there were also about 50 dogs of other breeds participating in contests testing their ability to execute their handler’s commands.

“It’s a good family sport,” Nowak said. “Any family should be able to come here, whether they own a dog or not, and be able to enjoy and see good working dogs.”